Thursday, July 24th, 2008
If you are among the lot who think that a motorhome journey is the possession of only the rich and affluent, then rest assured that you have been misguided. Most people believe that hiring a motorhome would cost them a fortune, overlooking the fact that they would have to spend an equal or more amount on hotel bookings, food and local conveyance. Besides, journey via motorhomes is a completely unique experience, allowing you to feel the warmth of your homes even when away from it.
The first thing that crops in our minds while planning a vacation is budget. Preparing for a vacation requires booking hotels or guest rooms in advance. Besides, your enjoyment can be marred due to local conveyance hassles. Food is another requirement that is to be met at least twice a day and eating out at hotels or restaurants might be quite expensive. Hiring a motorhome or recreational vehicle (RV) can put a check on these extra expenses. Motorhomes answer your queries with regard to accommodation and food. You don’t have to book any hotel or guest room. The cozy comfort of home will be right inside your vehicle. Secondly, you can cook the dishes of your choice in the kitchen and enjoy the mobile experience of your ‘house on wheels’. Your rig will be your only source of conveyance, relieving you of the added hassles of changing conveyance mediums to visit the places of interest.
The benefits of RV vacation do not end here. An RVs vacation is completely at your discretion. You can start your journey anytime unlike those organized by tour agencies. So whether you want to have a gala time at the campsites or ride through the wide roads, it’s your choice. You just need to be cautious about the roads you drive, as there are certain road restrictions when it comes to a motorhome ride. Rental operators can provide instructions on the roads to follow. Coming to food, you can buy the cooking items from the local market or even stock your kitchen in advance to cook your favorite meals.
Planning an affordable RV vacation requires a little more thoughtful planning as the expenses might vary with the size and facilities of your rig. Your family size will decide the number of beds you want. Besides, your little children might require some space to play around. If you only settle for the very basic facilities in your RV, it would cost you only a small sum. However, if you can afford a little more, you can enjoy few more luxuries like full bathrooms, refrigerators, microwave, living areas, master bedrooms, satellite TV, Internet access, slide-out sections and awnings. These added luxuries are absolutely optional. Your choice of a basic motorhome will in no way, mar your enjoyment.
So ride your own motorhome this season to enjoy the warmth of beautiful surroundings, feeling at home all the time. Hiring motorhomes to spend your vacation can be easily affordable if planned with good discretion. All that is required is to set your priorities and then opt for the RV that best suits your purpose. With the RV of your choice, your vacation will surely turn out to be a memorable one.
Posted in Recreational Vehicle | No Comments »
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
Ford Motor Co. plans to revamp some U.S. plants and bring six small vehicles to the U.S. market from overseas to meet customers’ growing demand for more fuel-efficient options, a person briefed on the company’s plans said Tuesday.
Ford has no immediate plans to close U.S. plants despite overcapacity in a slumping market, the person said. Instead, the automaker will retool plants to increase production of smaller cars and engines. The person requested anonymity because Ford isn’t confirming details until Thursday, when it releases second-quarter earnings.
The moves will further accelerate Ford’s efforts to ease its dependence on trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans, which accounted for 45 percent of its sales in the first half of this year. Ford’s U.S. sales dropped 14 percent in the first six months of 2008 as consumers shocked by rising gas prices sought smaller vehicles.
The steep sales decline is expected to drag down Ford’s second-quarter results after a surprise $100 million profit in the first quarter. Ford had warned that the results were an anomaly, and in May it abandoned its long-stated goal of returning to profitability by 2009. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predict a second-quarter loss of 27 cents per share.
The moves to be announced Thursday are Ford’s latest efforts to deal with plunging truck and SUV sales, which have also forced production cuts at General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. In May, Ford announced it would slash truck and SUV production and cut several thousand salaried jobs on top of the 8,000 U.S. hourly jobs it is trying to cut this year.
On Monday, Ford said it plans to begin offering buyouts to workers at facilities in Michigan and Ohio, building on targeted buyouts offered in June at other plants in Kentucky and the Midwest.
Ford announced last month that it was cutting truck and SUV production for the rest of the year and increasing production of the Focus small car and Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small SUVs. It also delayed the launch of its new F-150 pickup until fall.
Also in June, Ford revealed that it will build the global Fiesta subcompact at its factory in Cuautitlan, Mexico, which has been making trucks, and that it will build the European Focus small car in North America. Both cars are set to go on sale in the U.S. in 2010.
The company now plans to bring even more vehicles over from Europe and produce them in North America, according to the person briefed on the plans. They could include the Kuga small crossover vehicle, the Transit Connect and C-Max small vans and the next-generation Mondeo midsize car, which likely would replace the current Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.
Some factories, the person said, will be retooled to produce more fuel-efficient four- and six-cylinder engines and more efficient transmissions for the new vehicles.
Also, to meet high demand for the current Focus small car, Ford will retool part of the Michigan Truck plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne to build Focus bodies. The bodies would then be shipped next door to the Wayne Assembly plant, where the Focus is made, the person said. Ford has been trying to crank out more Focuses at the Wayne Assembly plant, but analysts have said its body shop can’t move as quickly as the rest of the factory, and that has slowed production.
Production of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs, which are currently made at the Michigan Truck plant, would be moved to another location, likely the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, which builds Ford F-250 and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks.
Rocky Comito, president of the UAW local in Louisville that represents workers at the plant, said Tuesday he hadn’t been told of any changes, although Ford promised new products for the truck plant and the Louisville Assembly plant in its national UAW contract reached last year.
“We tell them we’ll build whatever they bring us,” Comito said.
Greg Gardner, an analyst for the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, which publishes the annual Harbour Report on auto manufacturing, said converting an auto plant’s operations from trucks to cars is no easy feat and could easily cost tens of millions of dollars per factory. But the changeover is critical, he said, since Ford has lost small-car sales because it didn’t have enough inventory.
“You can’t use the same conveyor system for trucks as you can for cars,” Gardner said. “There’s some equipment, like torque wrenches and things like that … those are common to any vehicle. But really heavy-duty capital equipment has to be different.”
But it’s unclear if Wall Street will be satisfied with Ford’s latest plan. Brian Johnson, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, said Tuesday in a note to investors that Ford still has too much North American plant capacity and needs to close plants.
Ford shares rose 36 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $5.84 Tuesday.
Posted in Cars, Ford updates | No Comments »
